Dual touchpad system

ABSTRACT

A dual touchpad system is provided. The dual touchpad system includes a first touchpad and a second touchpad. The dual touchpad system also includes an input detection unit coupled to the first and second touchpads and configured to monitor the first and second touchpads for user contact thereon. The dual touchpad system also includes a gesture recognition unit configured to control an electronic device in response to receiving input from the input detection unit indicative of detected contact on the first and/or second touchpads to control the electronic device. The first touchpad is spaced apart from and is non-concentric with the second touchpad in embodiments.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/708,779 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,851,801) filed Dec. 7, 2012, entitled“Dual Touchpad System” which is expressly incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Touchpads are commonly found in laptop computers and other electronicdevices. When included as part of a laptop computer, the touchpad istypically used as a pointing device in place of, or in combination with,a mouse. A typical touchpad includes a detection surface and an inputdetection device. The input detection device detects contact on thedetection surface. With some conventional touchpads, the input detectiondevice is able to perform such detection with respect to single contactsperformed using a single finger (or object, such as a stylus), or withrespect to multiple simultaneous contacts performed using two or morefingers or objects.

A conventional touchpad allows for only limited control of the laptop orother type of electronic device with which it associated. For example,zoom-in and zoom-out control is not supported with conventionaltouchpads. Moreover, a conventional touchpad must include buttons toallow for full functionality, and this combined use of the touchpad andbuttons is challenging for many users, particularly in view of the factthat two hands must be used and the commonly close proximity between thetouchpad and the buttons.

It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosurepresented herein has been made.

SUMMARY

The embodiments presented herein provide a dual touchpad system and amethod for controlling an electronic device using the dual touchpadsystem. Through the use of the dual touchpad system, new possibilitiesfor interacting with an electronic device, such as a laptop computer,are made available. Some of these possibilities might improve onprevious touchpad systems.

A dual touchpad system is provided according to one aspect disclosedherein. In one embodiment, the dual touchpad system includes twotouchpads, referred to herein as a “first” touchpad and a “second”touchpad. As discussed briefly above, a typical touchpad includes adetection surface and an input detection device. The input detectiondevice detects contact on the detection surface. The first touchpad maybe spaced apart from and may be non-concentric with the second touchpad.

The dual touchpad system provided herein also includes an inputdetection unit coupled to the first and second touchpads in oneembodiment. The input detection unit is configured to monitor the firstand second touchpads for user contact thereon. In response to detectingcontact to either the first touchpad or the second touchpad, the inputdetection unit provides a pointer detection signal describing thedetected contact to a gesture recognition unit. The gesture recognitionunit is configured in one embodiment to control an electronic deviceassociated with the dual touchpad system, such as a laptop computer, inresponse to receiving input from the input detection unit indicative ofuser contact on the first and/or second touchpads to control theelectronic device.

In some embodiments, the dual touchpad system also includesfunctionality for changing the mode of operation of the dual touchpadsbased upon gestures input by a user. For instance, in one embodiment, auser might be permitted to use the first touchpad to move an on-screencursor and use the second touchpad for scrolling. In response todetecting a certain gesture on one of the touchpads, the dual touchpadsystem might configure the other touchpad to switch to a different modeof operation. For instance, in the example given above, a gesture mightbe provided to switch the second touchpad to a mode of operation inwhich detected input is provided to the controlled electronic device inthe form of arrow keys.

In order to provide the functionality for controlling an electronicdevice using a dual touchpad system described above, a first pointerdetection signal is generated in response to user contact and anymovement (or break in movement) on either or both a first touchpad and asecond touchpad in a dual touchpad system. In response to detecting thefirst pointer detection signal, a determination is made as to whetherthe first pointer detection signal corresponds to a gesture made oneither the first touchpad or the second touchpad to change a mode ofoperation of the other of the first touchpad or the second touchpad. Themode of operation of one of the touchpads may then be changed in themanner described above if the pointer detection signal does correspondto a gesture for changing the mode of the other of the first touchpad orthe second touchpad with reference to the gesture corresponding to thefirst pointer detection signal.

The subject matter described herein might also be implemented as acomputer-implemented method, in a computing system, as an apparatus, oras an article of manufacture such as a computer-readable storage medium.These and various other features as well as advantages will be apparentfrom a reading of the following detailed description and a review of theassociated drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is block diagram showing one illustrative configuration for adual touchpad system, according to one embodiment presented herein;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram showing one illustrative routine forcontrolling the operation of an electronic device using a dual touchpadsystem, according to one embodiment presented herein;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing one illustrative routine for receivinginput from an accelerometer and a touchpad in a dual touchpad system tochange a mode of operation of a touchpad in the dual touchpad system,according to one embodiment presented herein; and

FIGS. 4A-4B are device diagrams showing several illustrative layouts forthe touchpads in a dual touchpad system and their use, according toseveral embodiments disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, references are made to theaccompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown byway of illustration specific embodiments or examples. Referring now tothe drawings, in which like numerals represent like elements through theseveral figures, aspects of a dual touchpad system will be described.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a block diagram will be described thatillustrates a dual touchpad system configured according to oneembodiment disclosed herein. The dual touchpad system 100 shown in FIG.1 may be coupled to an electronic device 50 and utilized to controlaspects of the operation of the electronic device 50. For instance, thedual touchpad system 100 might provide input to the electronic device 50for controlling the movement of a mouse cursor, for inputtingkeystrokes, for inputting gestures, and, potentially for performingother types of tasks.

In one implementation, the dual touchpad system 100 includes first andsecond touchpads 110A and 110B. Each of the first and second touchpads110A and 110B, respectively, may include a touch-sensitive surface. Thetouch-sensitive surface may be based on any one of capacitive,resistive, infrared, and surface acoustic wave technologies. Othertechnologies for detecting touch and generating an electrical signaldescribing the detected touch might also be utilized.

In one implementation, the dual touchpad system 100 also includes aninput detection unit 130, an accelerometer 140, a gesture recognitionunit 150, and a communication interface 160. Each of these componentsand various aspects of their configuration and operation will bedescribed in detail below.

The input detection unit 130 is coupled to the first and secondtouchpads 110A and 110B. The input detection unit 130 detects contact onthe first and second touchpads 110A and 110B and any movement orbreakage in the contact. The input detection unit 130 might also detectspeed (magnitude), velocity (both magnitude and direction), andacceleration (a change in magnitude and/or direction) of the contact onthe first and second touchpads 110A and 110B. The input detection unit130 might be configured to perform such detection with respect to singlecontacts performed using a single finger (or object, such as a stylus),or with respect to multiple simultaneous contacts performed using two ormore fingers or objects. The input detection unit 130 outputscorresponding pointer detection signals based upon the detected contactwith the touchpads 110A and 110B.

In some embodiments, the first and second touchpads 110A and 110Binclude a proximity-sensitive surface. The proximity-sensitive surfacemay be based on any one of inductive, capacitive, capacitivedisplacement, optical shadow, eddy-current, magnetic, photocell, laserrangefinder, sonar, and radar technologies. Other technologies mightalso be utilized. In these embodiments, the input detection unit 130detects the presence of a target (e.g., a finger of a user or an objectbeing held by the user) in proximity to the first and second touchpads110A and 110B and any movement or breakage in movement of the contact(i.e., the target is no longer close enough to be sensed). The inputdetection unit 130 might also detect speed, velocity, and accelerationof the target that is in proximity to the first and second touchpads110A and 110B.

In some embodiments, the input detection unit 130 might also detectdifferent proximities of the target to the first and second touchpads110A and 110B. In embodiments where the first and second touchpads 110Aand 110B comprise proximity-sensitive surfaces, the input detection unit130 might be configured to perform such detection with respect to asingle target in proximity to the first and second touchpads 110A and110B, in which the single target may be a single finger or object, orwith respect to multiple simultaneous targets in proximity to the firstand second touchpads 110A and 110B, in which the multiple targets may betwo or more fingers or objects. The input detection unit 130 outputscorresponding pointer detection signals for the detected targets. Thepointer detection signals might then be passed directly to theelectronic device 50 for controlling aspects of the operation of theelectronic device, such as for controlling the movement of a mousecursor for instance.

In some implementations, an accelerometer 140 is provided in the dualtouchpad system 100 that measures the acceleration of the dual touchpadsystem 100 and outputs corresponding acceleration signals. Theaccelerometer 140 may be a single- or multi-axis accelerometer. In someembodiments, the accelerometer 140 outputs the acceleration signals to agesture recognition unit 150.

The gesture recognition unit 150 is electrically coupled to the inputdetection unit 130 and receives the pointer detection signals outputthereby. In some embodiments, the gesture recognition unit 150 is alsoelectrically coupled to the accelerometer 140 and receives theacceleration signals output thereby.

The gesture recognition unit 150 receives the pointer detection signalsfrom the input detection unit 130. In response to receiving the pointerdetection signals, the input detection unit 130 determines whether thepointer detection signals correspond to a gesture in some embodiments. Agesture is movement that corresponds to a command.

If the pointer detection signals do correspond to one or more gestures,the gesture recognition unit 150 generates control signals correspondingto the identified gesture, or gestures, and outputs the control signalsto the electronic device 50. The electronic device 50 may then receivethe control signals and perform one or more commands corresponding tothe gestures. In some embodiments, the gesture recognition unit 150takes no further action if it determines that the pointer detectionsignals do not correspond to any gesture to control the electronicdevice 50. In other embodiments, however, an error message is output toa user of the dual touchpad system if the gesture recognition unit 150determines that the pointer detection signals do not correspond to agesture for controlling the electronic device 50.

In some embodiments, the gesture recognition unit 150 also determineswhether received pointer detection signals correspond to gestures forchanging the mode of operation of either or both of the first and secondtouchpads 110A and 110B. In this regard, certain gestures might bedefined which, if input by a user of the dual touchpad system 100,change the manner of operation of one or both of the touchpads 110A and110B. If a gesture defined to change the mode of operation of either orboth of the touchpads 110A and 110B is detected, the gesture recognitionunit 150 will generate a control signal for instructing the electronicdevice 50 to change the mode of operation for the touchpad and outputthe generated control signal to the electronic device 50.

In one specific example, a gesture might be made on the touchpad 110Acorresponding to a command to change the mode of operation of thetouchpad 110B. In another example, a gesture might be made on thetouchpad 110B corresponding to a command to change the mode of operationof the touchpad 110A. Similarly, a gesture might be made on the touchpad110A corresponding to a command to change the mode of operation of thetouchpad 110A and a gesture might be made on the touchpad 110Bcorresponding to a command to change the mode of operation of thetouchpad 110B. In response to detecting these gestures, the gesturerecognition unit 150 will send an appropriate command to the electronicdevice 50.

As mentioned above, the gesture recognition unit 150 might also receiveacceleration signals from the accelerometer 140. In response toreceiving such signals, the gesture recognition unit 150 might determinewhether the acceleration signals correspond a movement of the dualtouchpad system 100 for changing the mode of operation of either or bothof the touchpads 110A and 110B. In response to determining that theacceleration signals correspond to movement of the dual touchpad system100 to change the mode of either or both of the first and secondtouchpads 110A and 110B, the gesture recognition unit 150 might thenidentify the gestures that received pointer detection signals correspondto on the basis of the changed mode of either or both of the first andsecond touchpads 110A and 110B. Thereafter, the gesture recognition unit150 generates corresponding control signals and outputs the controlsignals to the electronic device 50.

In some embodiments, after receiving acceleration signals, the gesturerecognition unit 150 further receives pointer detection signals from theinput detection unit 130 corresponding to a designation of the mode foreither or both of the first and second touchpads 110A and 110B. Thegesture recognition unit 150 then subsequently identifies the gesturesthat the received pointer detection signals correspond to on the basisof the changed mode of either or both of the first and second touchpads110A and 110B, generates corresponding control signals, and outputs thecontrol signals to the electronic device 50.

In some embodiments, the gesture recognition unit 150 receivesacceleration signals from the accelerometer 140, and in response todetermining that the acceleration signals correspond to movement of thedual touchpad system 100 to control the electronic device 50, generatescorresponding control signals, and outputs the control signals to theelectronic device 50.

In some embodiments, the gesture recognition unit 150 receives theacceleration signals from the accelerometer 140, determines theorientation that the dual touchpad system 100 is being held, andinterprets the pointer detection signals made by way of the touchpads110A and 110B accordingly. For example, in some embodiments, the dualtouchpad 100 may have a rectangular outer shape and the first and secondtouchpads 110A and 110B may be disposed adjacent to each other. Withthis arrangement, a user may hold the dual touchpad system 100horizontally (as shown in FIG. 4A), such that the first and secondtouchpads 110A and 110B are adjacent to each other in a horizontaldirection, or vertically (as shown in FIG. 4B), such that the first andsecond touchpads 110A and 110B are adjacent to each other in a verticaldirection, and the gesture recognition unit 150 is able to determine theorientation of the dual touchpad system 100 from the accelerationsignals. The gesture recognition unit 150 may then interpret the pointerdetection signals on the basis of the determined orientation of the dualtouchpad system 100. For example, the gesture recognition unit 150 mayinterpret a rightward horizontal swipe gesture made on the firsttouchpad 110A when the dual touchpad system 100 is held in a horizontalorientation as a volume up gesture, but may interpret an upward verticalswipe gesture made on the first touchpad 110A (i.e., the same gesture)when the dual touchpad system 100 is held in a vertical orientation as achange channel gesture. Hence, in some embodiments, a changedorientation of the dual touchpad system 100 results in essentiallychanging the mode of operation of the dual touchpad system 100.

The gesture recognition unit 150 outputs control signals generatedthereby to the electronic device 50 via the communication interface 160.In some embodiments, the communication interface 160 comprises a wiredinterface, such as a Universal Serial Bus (“USB”) port, a serial port,or a parallel port, and the gesture recognition unit 150 transmits thecontrol signals to the electronic device 50 via the communicationinterface 160 and a cable. In some embodiments, the communicationinterface 160 comprises a wireless interface, such as a Bluetooth®interface or a radio frequency (“RF”) interface, and wirelesslytransmits the control signals to the electronic device 50 via thecommunication interface 160. Other types of wired and wirelesscommunications interfaces might also be utilized.

In one example of a real-life application, the dual touchpad system 100may be used as a game controller and certain movements detected oneither or both of the touchpads 110A and 110B and/or the accelerometer140 may be used to control a character or object in a video game. Asanother example, the dual touchpad system 100 may be used as a remotecontrol and certain movements detected on either or both of thetouchpads 110A and 110B and/or the accelerometer 140 may be used tocontrol the electronic device 50, such as to change channels or increasethe volume on the electronic device 50. As mentioned above, theorientation of the dual touchpad system 100, as determined by theaccelerometer 140, might control the mode of operation of the dualtouchpad system 100.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a flow diagram will be described thatillustrates aspects of one routine 200 for controlling an electronicdevice using a dual touchpad system 100, according to one embodimentdisclosed herein. The logical operations of the various implementationsshown in FIG. 2 and the other figures are implemented (1) as a sequenceof computer implemented acts or program modules running on a computingsystem and/or (2) as interconnected machine logic circuits or circuitmodules within the dual touchpad system 100. The implementation is amatter of choice dependent on the performance requirements of thecomputing system on which the embodiments described herein areimplemented. Accordingly, the logical operations making up theimplementations described herein are referred to variously asoperations, structural devices, acts or modules. It will be recognizedby one skilled in the art that these operations, structural devices,acts and modules may be implemented in software, in firmware, in specialpurpose digital logic, and any combination thereof without deviatingfrom the spirit and scope of the present invention as recited within theclaims attached hereto.

In the examples described below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, it isassumed that the first and second touchpads 110A and 110B comprisetouch-sensitive surfaces. However, it should be appreciated that thefirst and second touchpads 110A and 110B may compriseproximity-sensitive surfaces and other types of surfaces, as describedin greater detail above.

The routine 200 begins at operation 202, where a determination is madeas to whether contact has been detected on either or both of the firstand second touchpads 110A and 110B. If contact has not been detected oneither or both of the first and second touchpads 110A and 110B, theroutine 200 proceeds back to operation 202 for another suchdetermination. If, however, contact has been detected on either or bothof the first and second touchpads 110A and 110B, the routine 200continues from operation 202 to operation 204.

At operation 204, the input detection unit 130 generates a pointerdetection signal in response to contact and any movement or breakingthereof on either or both of the first and second touchpads 110A and110B. The input detection unit 130 transmits the pointer detectionsignal to the gesture recognition unit 160. The routine 200 thenproceeds from operation 204 to operation 206.

At operation 206, the gesture recognition unit 150 determines whetherthe received pointer detection signal corresponds to a gesture tocontrol the electronic device 50. This operation is performed since notall contact on first and second touchpads 110A and 110B corresponds to agesture to control the electronic device 50. For example, the user mayaccidentally touch the first and second touchpads 110A and 110B, or mayperform a gesture thereon inaccurately so that the gesture recognitionunit 150 is unable to interpret the resulting pointer detection signal.The user might also perform contact on either the first or secondtouchpads 110A and 110B that is not a gesture, but is intended tocontrol the operation of the electronic device 50. For instance, theuser might utilize either or both of the touchpads 110A and 110B to movea mouse cursor. In this example, the pointer detection signal might bepassed straight through to the electronic device 50.

If, at operation 206, the gesture recognition unit 150 determines thatthe pointer detection signal corresponds to a gesture to control theelectronic device 50, the routine 200 continues to operation 208, wherethe gesture that the pointer detection signal corresponds to isidentified. The routine 200 then continues from operation 208 tooperation 210.

At operation 210, the gesture recognition unit 150 generates a controlsignal corresponding to the identified gesture. The routine 200 thencontinues to operation 212, where the gesture recognition unit 150outputs the generated control signal to the electronic device 50 via thecommunication interface 160. From operation 212, the routine 200proceeds back to operation 202, as described above, where additionalinput may be processed in the manner described above.

If, at operation 206, the gesture recognition unit 150 determines thatthe pointer detection signal does not correspond to a gesture to controlthe electronic device 50, the routine 200 proceeds from operation 206 tooperation 214. At operation 214, a determination is made as to whetherthe pointer detection signal corresponds to a gesture made on either thefirst touchpad 110A or the second touchpad 110B to change the mode onthe other of the first touchpad 110A or the second touchpad 110B. Forexample, a user may make a gesture on the first touchpad 110A to changethe mode of the second touchpad 110B from a mouse mode to a mode thatsupports arrow keys. In the arrow key mode, rather than dragging acrossthe first or second touchpad 110A and 110B to move a cursor on a screenof the electronic device 50, the cursor may be moved using virtual areason the first or second touchpad 110A and 110B that may be tapped (ortapped followed by a continuous pointing motion) in the manner thatarrow keys may be pressed to move a cursor.

If, at operation 214, the gesture recognition unit 150 determines thatthe pointer detection signal does not correspond to a gesture made oneither the first touchpad 110A or the second touchpad 110B to change themode of operation of the other of the first touchpad 110A or the secondtouchpad 110B, the routine 200 proceeds from operation 214 to operation202, as described above.

In some embodiments, if, at operation 206, the gesture recognition unit150 determines that the pointer detection signal does not correspond toa gesture to control the electronic device 50, and, at operation 214,the pointer detection signal does not correspond to a gesture made oneither the first touchpad 110A or the second touchpad 110B to change themode of operation of the other of the first touchpad 110A or the secondtouchpad 110B, a visual, audible, or tactile signal (or a combination ofsignals) is output to alert the user to the fact that the contact madeon the first touchpad 110A and/or second touchpad 110B is not recognizedby the dual touchpad system 100. In some embodiments, the dual touchpadsystem 100 further comprises an output unit 170, which may include oneor more of a light, such as an LED (light-emitting diode), a speaker,and an actuator, and the visual, audible, or tactile signal is outputvia the output unit 170.

If, at operation 214, the gesture recognition unit 150 determines thatthe pointer detection signal corresponds to a gesture made on either thefirst touchpad 110A or the second touchpad 110B to change the mode onthe other of the first touchpad 110A or the second touchpad 110B, theroutine 200 continues to operation 216, where the mode of the other ofthe first touchpad 110A or the second touchpad 110B is changed. Fromoperation 216, the routine 200 proceeds to operation 202, as describedabove. It should be appreciated that, in this case, at operation 208,the determination of the gesture is made with reference to this changedmode of operation of the other of the first touchpad 110A or the secondtouchpad 110B.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a flow diagram will be described that shows aroutine 300 that illustrates aspects of one mechanism of receiving inputfrom an accelerometer 140 and a touchpad 110A and/or 110B in a dualtouchpad system 100 to change the mode of operation of the dual touchpadsystem, according to one embodiment disclosed herein.

The routine 300 begins at operation 302, where the gesture recognitionunit 150 determines whether it has received an acceleration signal fromthe accelerometer 140. If no acceleration signal has been received, theroutine 300 proceeds back to operation 302, where another suchdetermination is made. If an acceleration signal has been received, theroutine 300 proceeds from operation 302 to operation 303.

At operation 303, the gesture recognition unit 150 determines whether ithas received an acceleration signal from the accelerometer 140 thatcorresponds to movement of the dual touchpad system 100 indicating adesire to change a mode operation of the dual touchpad system 100. Forexample, a user may turn the dual touchpad system 100 upside down andright-side up. In response thereto, the gesture recognition unit 150determines from the resulting acceleration signal transmitted by theaccelerometer 140 that the user desires to change a mode of operation ofthe dual touchpad system 100. It should be appreciated that a user mayperform any designated movement to realize such control, such as shakingthe dual touchpad system 100, jerking the dual touchpad system 100 (forexample, to the right or left, or up or down), etc.

If, at operation 303, the gesture recognition unit 150 determines thatan acceleration signal has not been received from the accelerometer 140that corresponds to movement of the dual touchpad system 100 indicatinga desire to change modes of the dual touchpad system 100, the routine300 returns back to operation 302, described above. If, at operation303, an acceleration signal has been received from the accelerometer 140that corresponds to movement of the dual touchpad system 100 indicatinga desire to change modes of the dual touchpad system 100, the routine300 continues from operation 303 to operation 304.

At operation 304, the gesture recognition unit 150 determines a pointerdetection signal has been received from the input detection unit 130that corresponds to a gesture made on either or both the first touchpad110A and the second touchpad 110B, and in which the gesture correspondsto a command to change the dual touchpad system 100 into a particularmode of operation. If a pointer detection signal is not received thatcorresponds to a gesture made on either or both the first touchpad 110Aand the second touchpad 110B and in which the gesture corresponds to acommand to change the dual touchpad system 100 into a particular mode ofoperation, the routine 300 returns back to operation 304 for anothersuch determination.

If, at operation 304, the gesture recognition unit 150 determines that apointer detection signal has been received that corresponds to a gesturemade on either or both the first touchpad 110A and the second touchpad110B, and in which the gesture corresponds to a command to change thedual touchpad system 100 into a particular mode, the routine 300continues to operation 306, where the mode of operation of the dualtouchpad system 100 is changed on the basis of the command correspondingto the received pointer detection signal. From operation 306, theroutine 300 returns to operation 302, as described above. It should beappreciated that, following the routine 300 of FIG. 3, should theroutine 200 of FIG. 2 be initiated by user contact on either or both ofthe first and second touchpads 110A and 110B of operation 202,subsequently at operation 208, the determination of the gesture is madeon the basis of this changed mode of operation of the dual touchpadsystem 100.

FIGS. 4A-4B are device diagrams showing several illustrative layouts forthe touchpads 110A and 110B in a dual touchpad system 100 and their use,according to several embodiments disclosed herein. As shown in FIGS. 4Aand 4B, the exterior of the dual touchpad system 100 may be rectangularin some embodiments. The exterior of the dual touchpad system 100 mightalso be configured using other shapes in other implementations.

In some embodiments, the first and second touchpads 110A and 110B aresquare-shaped and have substantially the same outer dimensions. Whenheld in a horizontal orientation, that is, in the orientation shown inFIG. 4A, the first and second touchpads 110A and 110B may be adjacent toeach other in a horizontal direction with a space provided therebetween.When held in the vertical orientation, as shown in FIG. 4B, the firstand second touchpads 110A and 110B are vertically spaced apart from eachother. Since the first and second touchpads 110A and 110B are notdisposed such that one touchpad 110A or 110B surrounds the othertouchpad 110A or 110B, it may also be stated that first and secondtouchpads 110A and 110B are non-concentric.

With the configuration shown in FIG. 4A, the dual touchpad system 100can be held in both hands when positioned horizontally, and the firstand second touchpads 110A and 110B can be operated with the thumbs ofthe user. For example, the first touchpad 110A can be operated with thethumb on the left hand of the user and the second touchpad 110B can beoperated with the thumb on the right hand of the user. When positionedvertically, as shown in FIG. 4B, the dual touchpad system 100 can beheld in one hand and operated using one thumb.

There are many advantages to an arrangement of the touchpads 110A and110B as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. For example, in contrast toconventional touchpad and button combinations, there is sufficient roomin the configuration presented herein for a user's hands to move and tooperate the first and second touchpads 110A and 110B. Moreover, a usercan comfortably hold the dual touchpad system 100 and perform swipingmotions with his or her thumbs to quickly and easily realize variouscontrol of the electronic device 50. Again, this may be contrasted thiswith the somewhat awkward manipulation involved using the conventionaltouchpad and button combination, in which the user may operate thetouchpad using an index finger on one hand and operate the buttons usingthe index finger on the other hand.

In some embodiments, the dual touchpad system 100 is embedded in theelectronic device 50 and is therefore a part of the electronic device50. For example, the electronic device 50 may be a laptop computer andthe dual touchpad system 100 may be embedded in the laptop computer, forexample, to one side of or below the keyboard of the laptop computer. Asanother example, the electronic device 50 may be a handheld gameconsole, and the dual touchpad system 100 may be embedded in the casingof the handheld game console or a game controller. It should beappreciated that, in such embodiments, the gesture recognition unit 150could be disposed in the electronic device 50, or could be realized byoperation of a processor of the electronic device 50. Moreover, thecommunication interface 160 may be omitted from such a configuration.

Finally, in some embodiments, the output unit 170 may be a part of theelectronic device 50. In this case, the gesture recognition unit 150 mayoutput a visual, audible, or tactile signal (or a combination of thesesignals) via the output unit 170 to indicate completion of variouscontrol by the gesture recognition unit 150. For example, the gesturerecognition unit 150 may output at least one of a visual signal, anaudible signal, and a tactile signal via the output unit 170 after themode of the other of the first touchpad 110A or the second touchpad 110Bhas been changed in response to determining that pointer detectionsignals correspond to gestures made on the first touchpad 110A or thesecond touchpad 110B to change the mode of operation of the other of thefirst touchpad 110A or the second touchpad 110B.

Based on the foregoing, it should be appreciated that technologies havebeen described herein for implementing a dual touchpad system. Althoughthe embodiments described herein have been described in languagespecific to hardware structural features and methodological acts, it isto be understood that the invention defined in the appended claims isnot necessarily limited to the specific structures, acts or mediadescribed. Therefore, the specific structural features, acts and mediumsare disclosed as exemplary embodiments implementing the claimedinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a first touchpad operatingin a first mode of operation, a second touchpad non-concentric with andspaced apart from the first touchpad, the second touchpad operating in asecond mode of operation; and a gesture recognition unit performingoperations including: receiving a first signal generated responsive tocontact on the first touchpad, determining that the first signalcorresponds to a gesture made on the first touchpad to change a mode ofoperation of the second touchpad, changing the second touchpad from thesecond mode of operation to third mode of operation while maintainingthe first touchpad in the first mode of operation, and generating acontrol signal associated with the third mode of operation based atleast in part on a detecting a gesture on the second touchpad afterchanging the second touchpad from the second mode of operation to thethird mode of operation.
 2. The system of claim 1, further comprising awireless interface coupled to the gesture recognition unit, and whereinthe gesture recognition unit is configured to output the control signalto an electronic device wirelessly via the wireless interface.
 3. Thesystem of claim 1, further comprising a wired interface coupled to thegesture recognition unit, and wherein the control signal is output to anelectronic device via the wired interface.
 4. The system of claim 1,wherein the gesture recognition unit is further configured to, inresponse to determining that the first signal does not correspond to agesture to change a mode of operation of the second touchpad, output anerror message to an electronic device.
 5. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising an output unit including at least one of a light, a speaker,and an actuator, and wherein the gesture recognition unit is furtherconfigured to, in response to determining that the first signal does notcorrespond to a gesture to change a mode of operation of the secondtouchpad, output at least one of a visual signal, an audible signal, anda tactile signal via the output unit.
 6. A computer-implemented method,comprising: receiving a first signal generated responsive to contact ona first touchpad operating in a first mode of operation; determiningthat the first signal corresponds to a gesture made on the firsttouchpad to change a mode of operation of a second touchpad, the secondtouchpad non-concentric with and spaced apart from the first touchpadand operating in a second mode of operation; changing the secondtouchpad from the second mode of operation to third mode of operationwhile maintaining the first touchpad in the first mode of operation; andgenerating a control signal associated with the third mode of operationbased at least in part on a detecting a gesture on the second touchpadafter changing the second touchpad from the second mode of operation tothe third mode of operation.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim6, further comprising outputting the control signal to an electronicdevice wirelessly via a wireless interface.
 8. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 6, further comprising outputting the control signal toan electronic device via a wired interface.
 9. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 6, further comprising, in response to determining thatthe first signal does not correspond to a gesture to change a mode ofoperation of the second touchpad, output an error message to anelectronic device.
 10. The computer-implemented method of claim 6,further comprising, in response to determining that the first signaldoes not correspond to a gesture to change a mode of operation of thesecond touchpad, output at least one of a visual signal, an audiblesignal, and a tactile signal via an output unit.